Paint applicator or the like



Sept. 7, 1965 N. M. LAMBROS PAINT APPLICATOR OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 13, 1965 Z6 Z5 Z6 26' )Hllll HllllllllLHlLHllll i za 27 1:15.

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a RM Y 06406 00 m N a. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 W R 0000000000 o b b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 v. 00000000000 WM m 00000000000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 s w T 0000000002 M 6 M 40 a V0 0 0 0 0 Q J H a United States Patent 3,204,278 PAINT APPLICATOR OR THE LIKE Nickolas M. Lambros, 86-26 Grand Ave., Elmhurst, N.Y. Filed Aug. 1'3, 1963, 'Ser. No. 301,729 2 Claims. (CL 15244) This invention relates to paint or coating applicators which are adapted for use on wire fences of the chain link type, on various reticulated objects, and on other kinds of irregular surfaces.

A salient feature of the present invention is the provision of a sponge-like body which serves not only as its own reservoir for paint, whitewash, calcimine, or the like, but which also has at its operating surface a plurality of integral, closely arrayed, finger-like projections which, by virtue of their resilience and pliability, accommodate themselves for applying paint to all types of irregular surfaces. These fingers are also able to penetrate into recesses and apertures in the surfaces to be coated, or through the holes of various mesh-type objects in order to coat the lateral and, in some cases, the rear surfaces of the structural elements of such reticulated objects.

In one embodiment of the present invention, I provide a rectangular, sponge-like block made of a fluid saturable cellular substance, such as foam rubber, polyethylene foam, urethane foam, or other suitable porous material, either natural or synthetic, and which is pliable and resilient in character. The operative surface vof said block of material is cut or sliced to a suitable depth to form a plurality of integral projecting fingers which, by virtue of the resilience and pliability of the material, are able to adapt themselves to different types of surfaces, and even to penetrate between and extend at least partially around such structures as the elements of link-wire fences, chicken wire, or the like. When the block is dipped into paint, the sponge-like structure of the fingers absorbs or takes up the paint, while some of the paint extends into the slits between the fingers. When the applicator is applied to the wire fence, the fingers work against the face and sides of the wire links and due to their mutual close proximity, portions of said fingers extend to the rear surfaces of the wire and apply paint thereon, as well. Because of the novel structure of the applicator of the present invention, paint is efficiently applied to the greatest portion of the wire fence from principally one side thereof onl with minimal or substantially no spattering or waste of paint that frequently occurs with other prior art devices.

In order to prevent or greatly reduce the possibility of the fingers being cut or torn because of flexing and bending action and because of abrasion and wear upon rough and irregular surfaces, there are integrally molded into the sponge-like block numerous elongated filaments or fibers which extend from the backing portion of the block into said fingers to reinforce the latter.

In the preferred embodiment, the filaments are directionally arrayed substantially perpendicularly to the operating face of the brush. In other embodiments, the filaments may be disposed in random array provided a sufficient number of them across the juncture between the backing block and the fingers to reinforce the latter at the critical locations.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification.

The features of novelty which are believed to be char acteristic of the invention are set forth herein and will best be understood, both as to their fundamental principles and as to their particular embodiments, by reference to the specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the applicator of the present invention as it is held in position for painting a wire fence or the like;

3,204,278 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary section view, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is similar to FIG. 2, but illustrates another embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, similar to FIG. 5, showing an alternate form of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the applicator tool of the present invention, generally designated 11, comprises a block 12 made of a suitable sponge-like porous substance, such as sponge rubber, foam rubber, polyethylene foam, urethane foam, or other cellular material. Although block 12 may be made in the form of a rectangular shape, as shown in the drawings herein, it may be made in any other suitable shape that may be useful or convenient. Block 12 is securely bonded by means of a layer 13 of a suitable adhesive or the like, to a backing plate 14 made of a stiff sheet metal or the like. See FIGS. 1 and 2.

The ends of plate 14 have integral projections 15 and 16 which are bent upwardly and obliquely toward each other and which terminate in upwardly extending tabs 17 and 18, respectively. Secured between tabs 17 and 18 by means of bolts or screws 19 is a handle 21 made of a suitable dowel rod of wood, or the like. In some embodiments the backing plate 14 may be provided with a handle similar in structure to that of the masons or bricklayers trowel.

The longitudinal edges of backing plate 14 may be bent downwardly and substantially perpendicularly in the form of elongated flanges 22 and 23, respectively, if desired, in order to provide a smooth edge structure for said plate, and to act as a guard for block 12.

The bottom or face portion of block 12 has a plurality of parallel longitudinal slits 26 and a plurality of parallel slits 27, said groups of\s1its being arrayed substantially perpendicular to each other in a criss-cross or checkerboard pattern. See FIGS. 3, 4, 5. Slits 26 and 27 are cut by any suitable slicing tool or sets of tools that are devised for this purpose, said groups of slits extending a suitable distance into the mass of block 12, the remainder of which serves as a backing portion for said fingers. See FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, for example.

The arrays of slits 26 and 27 form between them a plurality of closely arrayed individual fingers 28 of substantially uniform and similar cross-section and which are pliable and resilient. When applicator 11 is manipulated by the operator and pressed against objects having irregular surfaces, said fingers 28 are capable of individually adapting themselves to said irregularities and to coat such surfaces with paint or the like.

In operation, block 12 is dipped into the supply of paint, which enters at least partially into the cellular mass of fingers 28, or adheres to the ends and sides thereof, to the depth desired, after which the applicator is applied to the object to be coated. In the case of painting a chain link fence, as illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, the paint loaded applicator is not only moved laterally in several random directions against the face of the fence, but it is also moved inwardly and outwardly relative to the plane of the fence in such manner that fingers 28 eX- tend through the spaces between the respective parallel wires 31 and the respective parallel cross wires 32, whereby adjacent fingers 28 are caused to work against the front, side and at least part of the rear surfaces of the respective wires, as is seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. In actual operation, it has beenfound that fingers 28 are capable of coating most if not substantially all of the front, side and rear surfaces of wires 31 and 32, with virtually no waste of paint, nor any appreciable spattering thereof on the ground or the operator, as has been experienced with other paint applicators for wire fences.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the criss-cross slits may be arrayed as shown in FIG. 6, whereby parallel slits 36 are aligned diagonally across the operating face of block 12 and parallel slits 37 are arrayed substantially perpendicularly to slits 36. Such an array of criss-cross slits to produce integral fingers 38 may be useful for applying paint or the like to particular types of irregular surfaces.

Slits 26 and 27 and slits 36 and 37 are preferably made by knife-like cutting toolsso as to. produce .an array whereby the opposing surfaces of adjacent fingers are in close proximity to each other, or are "in intimate. contact with each other. When the coating applicator described herein is dipped into paint within a shallow pan, or the like, are pressed against the floor of the pan and moved laterally to temporarily deform fingers 28 or 38, slits 26 and 27 or slits 36 and 37 are at least partially opened to permit paint to extend along and adhere to the sides of said fingers, while at the same time a good number of the cellular structures thereof take up paint by sponge action. Thereafter, when the applicator is applied with some pressure during lateral movement thereof against the bject to be coated, the paint within the slits and the paint that is squeezed out of the cells of the sponge-like structure is caused to be applied to the surfaces of the object being coated.

In operation, fingers 28 are subjected to wear and abrasion, not only on their facing ends but also along the sides on their slit boundaries. Also after continued flexion and bending, the fingens tend to break at their roots in the area of the inner ends of the slits. In order to obviate this tendency and to prolong the life of the brush, there are provided a fairly evenly distributed number of filaments or fibers 41 (FIGS. 2 and 7) which are aligned substantially perpendicularly to the face ofthe brush and which extend from the region of the backing portion of block 12 into fingers 28.

Filaments 41 which are made of a suitably tough material such as natural bristle, nylon, rayon, or the like, are particularly useful at the critical juncture at the inner ends of slits 26 and 27 where they resist the abrasive action of such things as wires 31 and 32 (FIG. 1) or natural attrition due to. prolonged and repeated fiexion and bending of fingers 28.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, filaments or fibers 42, similar in nature to filaments 41, are shown disposed in random as well as curved array which may be desirable in some operations of the applicator. Although filaments 42 may be disposed in random array, nevertheless a sufiicient quantity of them extend from the backing portion of block 12 into the fingers 28 to reinforce the latter zit7 their roots in the area of the inner ends of slits 26 and The quantity of filaments incorporated into the fingered applicator block will be limited by the desirable porosity that is to be maintained for absorbing or taking up liquid paint or other coating materials for applying to wire fences, walls and the like. Yet a suflicient quantity of filaments will be provided to increase the resistance of the fingers to wear and abrasion or to tearing from the backing portion of the block.

The present invention also contemplates the advantageous incorporation of filaments into resilient porous blocks which have protruding integral fingers of different shape and sizes, which are spaced apart at different distances from each other, and which perform various other functions, such as washing, polishing, and the like. It is also contemplated that the integral finger elements may extend from more than one operating face of the porous resilient block.

Block 12 may alternatively be formed in an elliptical or circular shape, provided the cries-cross parallel slits 26 and 27, respectively, or 36 and 37, respectively, form between them closely arrayed integral fingers, as described hereinabove.

Although the respective arrays of parallel slits have been described hereinabove as being at right angles relative to each other, there may be some variations in the angular relationship between the respective arrays of slits 26 and 27 to form fingers 28 having diamond shaped cross-sections, without departing from the purview of the present invention.

Although the depths of slits 26 and 27 have been described as being substantially half the thickness of block 12, it is understood that the depths of said slits may be of any other suitable dimension to produce fingers 28 having sufficient length, pliability, and resilience to be worked around such objects as the links of wire fences, and the like, to coat said links with paint or other required coating material.

Although slits 26, as well as slits 27, are shown herein as being substantially equi-distantly spaced apart, it is contemplated that in some embodiments the spacing of the parallel slits may be modified as desired, or as may be necessary in some operative applications.

As shown in FIGS. 3-6, the outer ends of fingers 28 and of fingers 38 together form a substantially fiat plane. In some embodiments, however, it may be desirable or necessary to provide the outer end of said fingers with irregular, rippled, rounded or pointed terminal configurations whereby the application of paint or the like to special structures may be facilitated.

It is claimed:

1. A coating applicator comprising an elongated block of resilient, porous material, a plurality of substantially parallel longitudinal slits cut to, a predetermined depth into said block intermediate the front and back thereof, a plurality of substantially parallel lateral slits cut to the same depth in said block, said lateral slits being arrayed at an angle relative to said longitudinal slits, said longitudinal and lateral slits forming between them a plurality of closely arrayed resilient fingers, the remainder of said block forming a backing portion for said fingers, and a plurality of elongated filaments incorporated into said block, said filaments extending from said backing portion into said fingers and being arrayed substantially perpendicular to the operating end faces of said fingers, said filaments crossing over the junctures of said fingers and said backing portion to reinforce the bases of said fingers against tearing and abrasion.

2. A coating applicator according to claim 1 wherein said filaments are substantially evenly distributed throughout said block.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,816,108 7/31 Blumenfield l5-244.l 2,027,884 1/36 Schwab 15-186 2,232,389 2/41 Jurkat. 2,233,995 3/41 Cutler.

2,287,768 6/42 EckStein. 2,409,660. 10/46 Briggs 15 229.0

2,671,743 3/54 Lindquist. 2,819,482 1/58 Applegate 15-114 X 2,819,994 l/158i Gregory 260-722 X 2,842,789 7/58 Wells 15121 FOREIGN PATENTS 874,496 5/42 France. 1,106,965 7/55 France.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COATING APPLICATOR COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BLOCK OF RESILIENT, POROUS MATERIAL, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL LONGITUDINAL SLITS CUT TO A PREDETERMINED DEPTH INTO SAID BLOCK INTERMEDIATE THE FRONT AND BACK THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL LATERAL SLITS CUT TO THE SAME DEPTH IN SAID BLOCK, SAID LATERAL SLITS BEING ARRAYED AT AN ANGLE RELATIVE TO SAID LONGITUDIAL SLITS, SAID LONGITUDINAL AND LATERAL SLITS FORMING BETWEEN THEM A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY ARRAYED RESILIENT FINGERS, THE REMAINDER OF SAID BLOCK FORMING A BACKING PROTION FOR SAID FINGERS, AND A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED FILAMENTS INCORPORATED INTO SAID BLOCK, SAID FILAMENTS EXTENDING FROM SAID BACKING PORTION INTO SAID FINGERS AND BEING ARRAYED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE OPERATING END FACES IF SAUD FINGERS, SAID FILAMENTS CROSSING OVER THE JUNCTURES OF SAID FINGERS AND SAID BACKING PORTION TO REINFORCE THE BASES OF SAID FINGERS AGAINST TEARING AND ABRASION. 